-The name of the disease is: AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
-Scientists believe that it probably transferred to humans in Africa between 1884 and 1924.
-They also believe that it probably entered Haiti around 1966 and then entered the United States in 1970, and kept spreading to other countries in the world.
-However, during the 1970s, Western scientists and doctors remained ignorant of the growing epidemic and treatments to prevent and fight AIDS was delayed for a long time.
-It is called a "syndrome" and not a "disease" because this label was applied in the early years of the HIV epidemic when scientists were still trying to identify the cause of AIDS.
-However, despite the fact that the cause is now known, the name has persisted for convenience. The word syndrome is used then there is a group of symptoms that occur together, but there is no established cause.
A picture showing a signal of the final stage of an HIV infection
A world famous symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS
-The name of the organism that causes the disease is: HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
-It is a lentivirus, which is a member of the retrovirus family.
-It causes AIDS (a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive).
-HIV is a virus
-HIV infection in humans is considered a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO)
-HIV infects vital cells in the human immune system, such as the helper T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells.
-HIV makes the human immune system deficient, hence its name "Immunodeficiency Virus."
-Like most viruses, it has a "capsid," which acts to trick its host cell into letting the virus itself, or its genetic information, in the host cell.
-HIV is an RNA virus and its genetic information is copied from RNA to DNA, instead of from DNA to RNA.
HIV viewed through an electron microscope
A detailed diagram of an HIV virus, showing its compositions
Some of the symptoms of AIDS are:
- Developing conditions of opportunistic infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, which affect almost every organ system in the body. - Drastically increased risk of developing various cancers (e.g. Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer, and lymphomas). - Clear signs of systemic symptoms of infection like: fevers, sweating a lot (especially during the night), swollen glands, sudden chills, overall weakness of the body, and sudden weight loss. -Diarrhea (lasts for more than a week), dry coughs, memory loss, depression, pneumonia, etc. are some of the most common symptoms of AIDS.
Some of the effects of AIDS are:
-The virus has the ability to remain inactive in cells for long periods of time. - The most prominent effect of HIV is its T-helper cell suppression and lysis. - T-helper cells are either killed off or made unable to function. - Infected B-cells cannot produce antibodies, which leads to the downfall of the immune system. - HIV can have effects on the skin by basically "strengthening" other viruses by weakening the immune system. These effects include: - Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) infection (Herpes virus which causes chicken pox and shingles) - Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) (one of the AIDS-defining diseases, which causes open sores) - Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) (creates tumors from cells which line blood vessels and lymph nodes).
HIV can also effect humans orally:
- Candidasis (fungal infections as a result of CD4+ cell count decrease) - Periodontal disease (sudden and rapid loss of soft tissue and jaw bone) - Herpes simplex virus (can also cause sore in and around the mouth)
Finally, HIV can effect humans neurologically:
- AIDS-related dementia - Decrease in the ability to think properly and process information - Brain tumors that either begin in the brain or spread to the brain from elsewhere in the body - Progressive multifocal leukoenecephalopathy (PML) (difficulty walking and talking, weakness in the limbs, and seizures)
Detailed diagram showing the main symptoms of AIDS
Some of the effects AIDS can have on the body
- Currently, there are no cure for AIDS, but medications are effective in fighting HIV and its complications. - The treatments that are available are designed to reduce HIV, keep the immune system as healthy as possible, and decrease complications. - However, AIDS cannot be fully cured.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of drugs for treating HIV/AIDS. These include:
- Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTI) (drugs interrupting the virus from duplication, which may slow the spread of HIV). - Protease Inhibitors (PI) (interrupts virus replication at a later step in the virus life cycle).
Other medications include:
- Fusion Inhibitors (acts against HIV by preventing the virus from fusing with the inside of a cell, preventing it from replicating). - Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) (a combination of two or three more drugs to slow the rate at which HIV replicates itself). - Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTI) (blocks the infection of new cells by HIV)
A diagram explaining how Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors work
A diagram showing how fusion inhibitors and protease inhibitors work
AIDS is transmitted most commonly in three ways: Sexual transmission, blood transmission, and perinatal transmission.
Sexual transmission of AIDS:
- Occurs with the contact between sexual secretions of one person with the rectal, genital, or oral mucous membranes of another. - Unprotected sexual acts results in a higher chance of getting AIDS. - HIV can be transmitted through oral sex as well. - Drug use is another possible predictor of HIV transmission as it can relate to unprotected sexual behavior. - Genital ulcers (such as the ones caused by syphilis and chancroid) can increase the risk of becoming infected with HIV by fourfold.
Blood transmission of AIDS:
- Particularly related to recreational drug users and recipients of blood transfusions and blood products. - Sharing and reusing syringes contaminated with HIV-infected blood can be a major risk for infection. - Also can affect people who give and receive tattoos and piercings.
Perinatal transmission of AIDS:
- Can occur in utero during the last weeks of pregnancy and during childbirth. - If no treatments are present, the transmission rate is approximately 25%. - If antiretroviral therapy is taken and birth is given by caesarean section, the transmission rate is decreased to 1% - Breastfeeding can also increase the risk of transmission by 4%.
Sharing or reusing a needle is a big no-no!
- AIDS can be prevented by being prepared against the three main ways of transmission (discussed above).
To prevent AIDS from sexual contact:
- Only condoms can reduce the risk of infection with HIV and other STDs. - Typical condom use can reduce HIV transmission by 80%. - Non oil-lubricated latex condoms are the single most effective available technology in reducing the sexual transmission of HIV - Male circumcision lowers the risk of HIV infection among heterosexual men, from 51% to 60%.
To prevent AIDS from blood (body fluid exposure):
- Taking precautions such as: using gloves, masks, protective eyewear, and gowns or aprons can prevent exposure of the skin. - Frequent and thorough washing of the skin immediately after being contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids can reduce the chance of infection. - Sharp objects like needles, scalpels, and glass should be carefully disposed of.
To prevent AIDS from Perinatal transmission:
- HIV-infected mothers should avoid breast-feeding their infant. - When replacement feeding, with a wet nurse, it is acceptable and safe.
To prevent AIDS with education:
- Education and health literacy has positive impacts on cautious sex behavior. - Implementation of sex-education programs have also been proven to be extremely effective.
Knowledge is power! It has shown positive impacts in the battle against HIV/AIDS
Gloves are an effective way to protect exposed skin
-The name of the disease is: AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
-Scientists believe that it probably transferred to humans in Africa between 1884 and 1924.
-They also believe that it probably entered Haiti around 1966 and then entered the United States in 1970, and kept spreading to other countries in the world.
-However, during the 1970s, Western scientists and doctors remained ignorant of the growing epidemic and treatments to prevent and fight AIDS was delayed for a long time.
-It is called a "syndrome" and not a "disease" because this label was applied in the early years of the HIV epidemic when scientists were still trying to identify the cause of AIDS.
-However, despite the fact that the cause is now known, the name has persisted for convenience. The word syndrome is used then there is a group of symptoms that occur together, but there is no established cause.
-The name of the organism that causes the disease is: HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
-It is a lentivirus, which is a member of the retrovirus family.
-It causes AIDS (a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive).
-HIV is a virus
-HIV infection in humans is considered a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO)
-HIV infects vital cells in the human immune system, such as the helper T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells.
-HIV makes the human immune system deficient, hence its name "Immunodeficiency Virus."
-Like most viruses, it has a "capsid," which acts to trick its host cell into letting the virus itself, or its genetic information, in the host cell.
-HIV is an RNA virus and its genetic information is copied from RNA to DNA, instead of from DNA to RNA.
Some of the symptoms of AIDS are:
- Developing conditions of opportunistic infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, which affect almost every organ system in the body.
- Drastically increased risk of developing various cancers (e.g. Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer, and lymphomas).
- Clear signs of systemic symptoms of infection like: fevers, sweating a lot (especially during the night), swollen glands, sudden chills, overall weakness of the body, and sudden weight loss.
-Diarrhea (lasts for more than a week), dry coughs, memory loss, depression, pneumonia, etc. are some of the most common symptoms of AIDS.
Some of the effects of AIDS are:
-The virus has the ability to remain inactive in cells for long periods of time.
- The most prominent effect of HIV is its T-helper cell suppression and lysis.
- T-helper cells are either killed off or made unable to function.
- Infected B-cells cannot produce antibodies, which leads to the downfall of the immune system.
- HIV can have effects on the skin by basically "strengthening" other viruses by weakening the immune system. These effects include:
- Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) infection (Herpes virus which causes chicken pox and shingles)
- Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) (one of the AIDS-defining diseases, which causes open sores)
- Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) (creates tumors from cells which line blood vessels and lymph nodes).
HIV can also effect humans orally:
- Candidasis (fungal infections as a result of CD4+ cell count decrease)
- Periodontal disease (sudden and rapid loss of soft tissue and jaw bone)
- Herpes simplex virus (can also cause sore in and around the mouth)
Finally, HIV can effect humans neurologically:
- AIDS-related dementia
- Decrease in the ability to think properly and process information
- Brain tumors that either begin in the brain or spread to the brain from elsewhere in the body
- Progressive multifocal leukoenecephalopathy (PML) (difficulty walking and talking, weakness in the limbs, and seizures)
- Currently, there are no cure for AIDS, but medications are effective in fighting HIV and its complications.
- The treatments that are available are designed to reduce HIV, keep the immune system as healthy as possible, and decrease complications.
- However, AIDS cannot be fully cured.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of drugs for treating HIV/AIDS. These include:
- Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTI) (drugs interrupting the virus from duplication, which may slow the spread of HIV).
- Protease Inhibitors (PI) (interrupts virus replication at a later step in the virus life cycle).
Other medications include:
- Fusion Inhibitors (acts against HIV by preventing the virus from fusing with the inside of a cell, preventing it from replicating).
- Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) (a combination of two or three more drugs to slow the rate at which HIV replicates itself).
- Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTI) (blocks the infection of new cells by HIV)
AIDS is transmitted most commonly in three ways: Sexual transmission, blood transmission, and perinatal transmission.
Sexual transmission of AIDS:
- Occurs with the contact between sexual secretions of one person with the rectal, genital, or oral mucous membranes of another.
- Unprotected sexual acts results in a higher chance of getting AIDS.
- HIV can be transmitted through oral sex as well.
- Drug use is another possible predictor of HIV transmission as it can relate to unprotected sexual behavior.
- Genital ulcers (such as the ones caused by syphilis and chancroid) can increase the risk of becoming infected with HIV by fourfold.
Blood transmission of AIDS:
- Particularly related to recreational drug users and recipients of blood transfusions and blood products.
- Sharing and reusing syringes contaminated with HIV-infected blood can be a major risk for infection.
- Also can affect people who give and receive tattoos and piercings.
Perinatal transmission of AIDS:
- Can occur in utero during the last weeks of pregnancy and during childbirth.
- If no treatments are present, the transmission rate is approximately 25%.
- If antiretroviral therapy is taken and birth is given by caesarean section, the transmission rate is decreased to 1%
- Breastfeeding can also increase the risk of transmission by 4%.
- AIDS can be prevented by being prepared against the three main ways of transmission (discussed above).
To prevent AIDS from sexual contact:
- Only condoms can reduce the risk of infection with HIV and other STDs.
- Typical condom use can reduce HIV transmission by 80%.
- Non oil-lubricated latex condoms are the single most effective available technology in reducing the sexual transmission of HIV
- Male circumcision lowers the risk of HIV infection among heterosexual men, from 51% to 60%.
To prevent AIDS from blood (body fluid exposure):
- Taking precautions such as: using gloves, masks, protective eyewear, and gowns or aprons can prevent exposure of the skin.
- Frequent and thorough washing of the skin immediately after being contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids can reduce the chance of infection.
- Sharp objects like needles, scalpels, and glass should be carefully disposed of.
To prevent AIDS from Perinatal transmission:
- HIV-infected mothers should avoid breast-feeding their infant.
- When replacement feeding, with a wet nurse, it is acceptable and safe.
To prevent AIDS with education:
- Education and health literacy has positive impacts on cautious sex behavior.
- Implementation of sex-education programs have also been proven to be extremely effective.
1.http://www.aids.org/
2.http://www.aidsvancouver.org/
3.http://www.avert.org/aids.htm
4.http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/dc-ma/aids-sida-eng.php
5.http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hivaids.html
6.http://www.unaids.org/en/
7.http://www.amfar.org/About_HIV_and_AIDS/About_HIV/AIDS/?gclid=CKrz-oCPuq8CFUUZQgodoVLBjw
8.http://www.iavi.org/Pages/default.aspx?google
9.http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2009/11/24/f-aids-hiv-global-epidemic.html
10.http://www.aidsinfo.nih.gov/
11. http://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/aids/signs_and_symptoms.html
12. http://www.everydayhealth.com/hiv-aids/effects-of-hiv-on-body.aspx
13. http://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/aids/treatment.html